Thursday

Michael Tonello two trunk shows in Palm Beach this week. He will be at The Breakers on Friday and Serenella on Saturday.

When life hands you lemons, you make $1.6 million from a lemonade stand. That’s what Michael Tonello did, well sort of.

The Massachusetts native was once a makeup artist and hairstylist who found himself in Spain with a brand new apartment, zero income and no clue on what to do next. But his quick wit and entrepreneurship turned him into the “Robin Hood of desperate women,” a best-selling author and the shoe designer he is today.

“A door closed and a little window opened and I looked at that window as a huge opportunity rather than it being an obstacle,” he told the Daily News Wednesday.

It started with a dream. Tonello was looking to ditch his days of grooming celebrities for a life in Barcelona. Destiny came knocking when a friend offered him a job in Spain as a manufacturing middleman for his jewelry company, but that didn’t last long. By the time Tonello settled in Barcelona, shipped his belongings from Cape Cod and signed a five-year lease on an apartment, his friend decided to move his manufacturing to Thailand.

The bills kept coming and in a “light bulb” moment, Tonello decided to put his cashmere Polo Ralph Lauren scarf up for sale on eBay. He bought it for $99 and sold it for $430.

“I started looking at everything inside the boxes in my apartment as if they had dollar bill signs on them,” Tonello said.

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One really fun surprise from our La Rioja workshop that backs the scarves to cotton canvas: saved original tags in an Hermès box

A post shared by Respoke (@respokeofficial) on Jan 16, 2020 at 12:50pm PST

Soon, he began selling his Hermès scarves for more than double what he paid through eBay bidding wars. The “losers,” turns out, were serious collectors and would message him with wish lists, the most coveted item in their lists: Hermès’ Birkins handbags.

His personal shopper days led him to crack the Birkins code. Most stores would claim they didn’t have the bag or had a three-year waiting list or a waiting list to get on the waiting list, but when purchasing large sums of products, the Birkins suddenly became available. He came to the realization that there was no waiting list, it was all a genius marketing scheme. Deny wealthy women their handbag desires and they’ll pay any price to get their hands on them, upwards of $20,000 to be exact.

“Who knew I would become the Houdini of Hermès handbags,” he laughed.

For the next five years, Tonello found and resold about $1.6 million worth of Hermès handbags to celebrities and women around the world. Hermès, thinking he was an excellent customer and not knowing he was reselling their most desired product, began inviting Tonello to special events and grand openings. But once they caught on to him, he became blacklisted.

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My very first Birkin from M year, but haven't used it for a long time due to its weight and size What a beautiful coincidence that I received this book from my lovely sis @karenleung22 today! LOVE! #Hermes #Birkin35 #noir #togo #bringinghomethebirkin @hermes.addict

A post shared by Fiona (@fiona_lux_lover) on Nov 22, 2019 at 8:05am PST

“They told me they would never sell me anymore handbags ever,” he said. “A few days later, I was on a flight from Frankfurt to Miami and starting thinking of all the crazy things that had gone on in my Birkin world for the past five years. When I got off the plane I had 41 pages in notes.”

Those notes turned into “Bringing Home the Birkin” a book where he chronicled his escapades in the luxury resale business. The manuscript went on a two-day bidding war among publishers, the book was translated into 13 languages, went on best-sellers list and took him on a two-year book tour around the world.

Once the whirlwind was over, Tonello found himself back in Barcelona with a guest room full of designer silk scarves. The lightbulb flashed once again and he founded Respoke, a shoe company where he repurposed Hermès, Gucci and Pucci silk scarves into espadrilles. It was a hit.

Bergdorf Goodman wanted them and so did Neiman Marcus. Palm Beachers also loved them, prompting them to be sold at The Breakers and Serenella at The Royal Poinciana Plaza.

“What we have in store here is completely different from what we have across the street at Serenella, or at Bergdorfs because we want to make sure that all of our customers have a unique shopping experience wherever they go,” he said Wednesday at The Breakers, where he spoke earlier at the Center for Family Services 21st Annual Old Bags Luncheon at The Breakers Palm Beach.

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Hello #ACK! Come visit us today and tomorrow for the lovely, one-of-a-kind @respokeofficial espadrilles. Meet designer @mjtonello and get a signed copy of his #BringingHomeTheBirkin A fun peek into the life of a handbag reseller - this book is a smart and enjoyable memoir that has a witty sense of humor, ideal for all of you Handbag-addicts! #serenellausa #respokeespadrilles #hermes #pucci #gucci

A post shared by Serenella (@serenellausa) on Jul 12, 2019 at 9:21am PDT

Each pair is unique, handmade in Rioja, Spain from designer silk scarves including vintage and new prints. The brand expanded to re-purposing scarves into cashmere sweaters and linen shirts. Now, Tonello is teaming up with Laudomia Pucci to create espadrilles from vintage Pucci prints.

“Pucci contacted us because they want to do a global collaboration because they love the idea of sustainable luxury. They want to open their archives to us,” Tonello said. “It's very exciting and thrilling for me because without Hermès and Pucci, I wouldn’t have a brand.”

The collaboration is expected to be released this summer. Meanwhile, Tonello will be enjoying his stay in Palm Beach with a couple Respoke trunk shows and book signings. From noon to 5 p.m., he will be at The Breakers on Friday and Serenella on Saturday. Who knows? He might have a couple leftover Birkins in his guest room as well.